Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Passengers by John Marrs

15 reviews

ruthypoo2's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh, my goodness. John Marrs is so “balls to the wall” with this book. What a morbid sense of humor he sometimes has. LOL! This story is continually churning from beginning to end, always staying fresh because there are multiple narrators, but the many characters should not be daunting. The book has 70 chapters and each is easily digestible, allowing the reader to gradually get to know the different characters, something about their backgrounds, and eventually the shared terror in which they all find themselves participating. 

The story is complex and full of the realistic, though possibly a bit exaggerated in some cases, life situations that many people face. Throughout the story, the reader will feel a variety of emotions for each character as you learn about many, many gray areas that exist in their respective lives. But you can never feel you have the whole story because the author continually introduces revelations that can make you sympathize more and less and sometimes in between. Life is complicated and making assumptions about people without a clear picture of their experiences and motivations is a mistake.

This book has wonderfully contemporary themes, such as fear of burgeoning technology, crooked, greedy, and corrupt politics, old moral values versus personal rights, and the detestable fascination people have developed for reality entertainment, even when it celebrates the reprehensible human behavior. Taking all that into consideration, this was a highly entertaining book!

I listened to the audiobook and thought the cast of voice actors were excellent, giving each character in normal and dire circumstances a really fitting voice.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide, and Alcohol

andreabey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy

nicekweenreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The best way to describe this book is to imagine the trolley problem, but with self-driving cars that are hacked. 

I couldn't put this book down. It was quick to start, had a variety of twists and turns, and a villain you'll love to hate! Is highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Car accident

Minor: Domestic abuse

thequiltyreader's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow. If you are looking for a book that offers twists and turns then this is the book for you. This near future thriller offers you twist after twist, keeping you on your toes and always guessing. I also found myself disgusted by some of the decision made but then I can see they are sadly reflective of what probably would happen in this day and age.

I really enjoyed the exploration of the impact of making decisions based on the information you have to hand which is perhaps not reflective of the full picture.

This was the first John Marrs book I have read and I flew through it as I just had to know what would happen next. I am now on the look out for more of his books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

The beginning chapters were slow but the pacing was good after that.  I enjoyed the suspense of the novel and liked this take on AI.  An interesting multilayered plot with well developed characters was enhanced by a full cast audiobook.  I enjoyed it but it was dark and some of the back stories were tough.  I'd reccommend checking the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

julienicole1106's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

emma6544's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

sophieamreacher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Interesting plot and characters, as well as unexpected plot twists, but I felt it went on longer than needed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

ellaticonstellation's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is an intense story. I love each passenger's stories. Libby and the rest of the jurors had unique personalities, especially Jack. I rarely read futuristic stuff and I'm glad that I picked this up because it was interesting. 

The "hacker" was so interesting. The dark themes such as pedophilia, suicide, etc. made my skin crawl. I was so mad at Sofia's husband, Patrick. He dared to threaten her about his dark side. Disgusting was an understatement. 

Oh, Sofia thinking that she joined a reality TV show was hilarious until it didn't. 

Heide blackmailing his cheating husband was awesome in a way that he had a taste of his own medicine. The squirming and mine games made it all worth it. 

The ending was interesting as well. And the triple life of Jude. Hey Jude✨

Thank you, John❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and War

quetzel90's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Stalking

Minor: Child death